Ontario Progressive Conservative Chief Doug Ford pitched himself Wednesday as one of the best steward of the financial system within the face of looming tariffs, however the different get together leaders say his document from the final seven years suggests in any other case.
Ford says he wants the strongest majority in Ontario historical past as a way to successfully take care of the threatened 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump, and held his first official marketing campaign occasion in Windsor, with a backdrop of the Ambassador Bridge to the U.S.
“The larger the mandate I obtain from you, the higher we’ll have the ability to defend our province, as a result of this can be a recreation to the president,” Ford mentioned.
“He seeks to divide and conquer. Whether or not he imposes tariffs subsequent week, subsequent month, or waits one other yr or extra, Trump’s threats aren’t going away.”
However as centered as Ford has been recently on the tariff combat, he has taken his eye off the ball on different urgent provincial points, Liberal Chief Bonnie Crombie steered.
“Whereas the premier is working across the province pretending he is Captain Canada, he isn’t fixing the fundamental points that matter to Ontarians,” she mentioned at her marketing campaign launch in Barrie.
“He mentioned he’d repair hallway drugs. He did not get it performed. He mentioned he’d lower your taxes, and he did not get it performed. He mentioned he’d construct 1.5 million houses. He did not get it performed. I’ve appeared on the homelessness, psychological well being and dependancy disaster that exists right here in Barrie. He isn’t serving to the state of affairs right here in Barrie on the bottom, or fixing the docs disaster.”
Crombie was in Barrie alongside Liberal candidate in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte, Rose Zacharias, an emergency and household physician in addition to previous president of the Ontario Medical Affiliation. They highlighted a promise to make sure everybody in Ontario has a household physician inside 4 years.
NDP Chief Marit Stiles touted her personal bona fides in taking up the tariff combat, saying she has bargained and negotiated with American and multinational companies to guard jobs. In the meantime, she steered that Ford referred to as this snap election not over tariffs, however to guard his personal job.
“He says it is as a result of he desires us to rent him to be our negotiator with Trump,” she mentioned in a speech. “Doug Ford, our negotiator? Is he kidding? I imply, simply have a look at Doug Ford’s monitor document.”
Stiles pointed to a 95-year lease for a spa on Toronto’s waterfront, and that simply Monday the province’s monetary accountability officer discovered that Ford’s choice to hurry up entry to beer and wine in nook shops by one yr will price the province $612 million.
His authorities can be below legal investigation by the RCMP, who’re wanting into Ford’s choice to open up the protected Greenbelt lands to housing improvement. It’s a now-reversed choice that the auditor common mentioned stood to profit sure builders to the tune of greater than $8 billion.
– With information from Liam Casey in Windsor, Maan Alhmidi in Barrie and Rianna Lim in Toronto.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 29, 2025.
Allison Jones, The Canadian Press
